The claimant was driving his fire engine on an emergency call. The defendant’s constable was similarly engaged. It was in the early hours, and they each went through the traffic junction. They crashed and the judge held both drivers negligent to the found proportions. The claimant had gone through the lights at red, but the police car was driving much more quickly.
Held: The judge had erred in finding negligence on the part of the police driver. The four reasons he had given did not stand up to scrutiny. The fire engine driver admitted negligence, and that is where responsibility lay.
Sedley LJ said that but for the admission of negligence, the court may well have found it to be a pure accident, with neither driver at fault.
Lord Neuberger MR, Sedley LJ, Owen J
[2009] EWCA Civ 1128
Bailii
Traffic Signs Regulation and General Directions 2002 36(1)(b)
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Joseph Eva Ltd v Reeves CA 1938
An accident occurred when a police vehicle went through traffic lights at green, but on the wrong side of the road.
Held: A driver crossing through traffic lights at green owes no duty to traffic entering the crossing in disobedience to the . .
Cited – Griffin v Mersey Regional Ambulance CA 8-Oct-1997
A driver who had crossed through a green traffic light but had collided with an ambulance was 60 per cent contributorily negligent. He had failed to hear the ambulance, had failed to see it, and had ignored unusal driving of other motorists.
Road Traffic, Negligence
Updated: 01 November 2021; Ref: scu.377530